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Monday, June 29, 2009

Parents: Do Try This at Home

By Lawrence Walsh
Manzano High School teacher
          Recent columns and articles in the Albuquerque Journal have again expressed concern about how APS and New Mexico's public schools are still "failing" Hispanic children. I cannot speak for all schools or school districts, but I can say that the teachers I know take these concerns seriously and are doing everything they can to ensure that as many students as possible, regardless of race or color, graduate. There are plenty of success stories that cover all demographics.
        I don't pay much attention to color or race in my high school classroom, but I can say that each student comes to me with a different background and family life that affects his/her education. School is not the only place where education takes place.
        There are things parents can do at home to contribute to a student's success. Parents should first, before they even have children, finish their own educations. If a parent does not have a high school diploma, it is not too late. Check with any school district, community college, or public university for options to finish high school or to earn a GED. By doing so, parents will have more earning power to provide the home environment needed for academic success, and they'll understand the process and importance of education.
        Parent should also:
        Set a time. Provide a distraction-free study time in the home, especially if your home is small. Set a one or two-hour period of quiet time when the TV is off, cell phones are silenced, and no visitors are allowed. Ensure that this time is supervised. Quiet time without a responsible adult will not be quiet!
        Set a place. Designate an area where your student can study. Eliminate toys, games, I-pods, phones, etc. from this space. Regardless of how much they try to convince you, music does not help them study.
        Set an example. Read! Read books and the newspaper, and make sure your children see you doing it and enjoying it. Talk about the things you read with them and ask them questions that make them think.
        Protect your kids. Try to eliminate domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and safety threats from your home. Get help if you must. A student cannot focus on school work when these issues are present.
        Feed your kids. Insist on a good breakfast before school, and a good lunch at school. Make sure the lunch is actually eaten and lunch money not spent for something else.
        Rest your kids. Quiet the house at bedtime. Inventory all household phones, games and other electronic devices at bedtime and plug them all into a kitchen outlet at night so they can charge. You can check your student's call log on the phone to make sure it is not being used in the middle of the night.
        Monitor your kids . Make sure the family's computer is in a location where it is easily monitored. If the student is using it, glance at the screen once in a while to see if he/she is on task. Check the computer's history every day to see where people in your home have been and how long they've been there.
        Praise your kids. When your child has a success at school, such as an A paper, or good behavior report, shower him/her with lots of praise. Post the paper on a bulletin board designated "School Success."
        Communicate. Schools and teachers should keep you posted of your child's achievements and progress. Most high schools and middle schools send out progress reports every six weeks. If you're not getting them, the school may have an incorrect address for you or your student may be "filtering" your mail before you get home. Ditto for phone calls and voicemail messages.
        Communicate more . If you suspect your student may be struggling in a particular class, don't wait for the teacher to call. You call the teacher. If the teacher does not return your call, call again. If the teacher is still unresponsive, call the principal.
        Prioritize. Arrange your household's time and finances to make your child's education top priority. Your home must have the things needed to provide a quality study environment. Reconsider what you believe to be an emergency and do not take your child out of school for family issues or vacations. An intense focus on education is the only way to break the cycle of poverty.
        When you institute some of these ideas into your home routine, your kids (especially the teens) will likely protest—vigorously! Hold your ground and don't give in. It is for their own good. They may hate you now, but they'll thank you later. You'll even thank yourself when you discover you won't have to support dropout adult children.
        Walsh is an Albuquerque High School educator and author of the book "Now Go Get That Rabbit: 9 Ways to be a Happy and Successful Adult."